Broken
by FanFic1324
Summary: Modern day AU. Katniss is a normal girl. Peeta is a rich handsome guy. But she is Broken and he is Blind (not for long). What happens when they meet? What happens when he confesses his love for her? Does she fall for the blonde haired, blue eyed, blind boy? Katniss and Peeta POV.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**** Guys this is my first fic. So please bear with me. I do plan on making this a long fic but only if you want me to. For a while it's gonna be Katniss's POV. But later I am gonna mix it up.**

**CHAPTER: One**

***KATNISS***

The alarm went off at six am , marking the start of yet another monotonous day. My hand landed on an empty bed side table. Huh? I peeked from under my pillow to see the clock placed on the other side of the room. Of course if it wasn't far from me I knew I would end up snoozing it a hundred times. Then again I could just get up snooze it and come back to this warm, comfy bed. The hand that was outside the blanket told me that it was cold outside of my cocoon of happiness. I could afford be late for a single day or I could just skip college or give up on studying altogether? Take up some small job? May be go back to England? My chain of thoughts was broken by the buzzing sound of the alarm indicating that it was six thirty! Already? I knew if I fell into the hole of 'why I should give up on life' I would probably surface back at six thirty at night.

"Holy shit" I groaned, jumping out of bed. Six thirty tonight! It's the masquerade ball of the Charlottesville High School. Of course, that's why the alarm was so far!

I sprinted to the bathroom, looked in the mirror and saw a pair of grey eyes staring back at me, my face hidden under a layer of makeup and my hairs curled below my shoulders. I looked so different! Who is this girl staring at me? Who am I?

My name is Katniss Everdeen. I live in Charlottesville, Virginia. I was born in London. I am 22 years old. I am a student of University of Virginia Charlottesville.

I never wore makeup. So why was I under so much of it? And my head feels like it's gonna explode. That's when it hit me. I went to a party last night and I was hung-over. I mentally cursed Glimmer for dragging my ass there.

Glimmer was a girl from college who lived next door. She was a party animal and a fun girl to be with.

To her and everybody else for that matter, I was a fun and outgoing girl too. But nobody knew that I was hurting inside - that whenever I smiled I mentally cursed the person in front of me, that I had to drag myself everywhere just so that I don't look like a slug – except for the girl I saw sprawled across her bed when I came out of the bathroom.

Madge Undersee, my best friend and roommate. '_Damn, that girl can sleep through a storm._'

She knew me well, better than others you could say. She knew me enough to know that I was not interested in going to this stupid ball.

'_Wait a minute'_ I thought. '_I am not even invited to this stupid ball. I just have to help with the arrangement of this stupid ball because stupid Glimmer's stupid sister was going_.'

I sighed. I was wronged into volunteering by Glimmer as her sister was in High School and her sister begged her to help. And Glimmer didn't want to be tortured alone.

I walked into the small kitchen of our studio apartment. It wasn't a luxurious apartment but it wasn't small either. It has enough space to accommodate two single beds, a small couch, and two bar stools next to the kitchen counter, two study tables and a T.V. table. And still it wasn't crammed. Also it has the one thing that I absolutely loved. A view. One side of the apartment had huge slanted almost floor to ceiling windows that gave a breathtaking view of the green mountains.

After starting the coffee maker, I plopped down on the couch watching the local news. A while later Madge did the same. Madge had spent months trying to scare me but she gave up once she realized that I had sharp senses.

She knew that I was in no mood to go but she couldn't help me. She had an assignment she was running late on as she had a cold for a week or so.

After a while she got up and walked to the bathroom. I decided on making French toast for breakfast and started grabbing ingredients from cupboard. I heard a knock on the door as I placed the food and coffee on the counter.

I rolled my eyes, '_Just in time for breakfast as always._'

Glimmer walked in, in true 'Glimmer' fashion. She was always not just fashionably dressed but also fully caked with makeup. I never got the point. Who are you trying to impress this early?

She skipped to my side and with a smile plastered on her pretty face "Oooo…French toast!"

Glimmer was pretty, beautiful actually. There was no doubt about it. She had emerald eyes, long curly blonde hair and clear pale skin. She was tall and had a great physique.

Me? I wasn't even a looker. Grey eyes that always had a sense of doom in them, slender form, unruly, messy black hair that was always in a braid. I had olive skin like my Dad's, the only thing that I liked about myself because it reminded me of him and cheek bones sticking out, right under my eyes and thin lips with a permanent frown loosely masked by a smile.

My response was almost automatic, "Help yourself."

I watched as she skipped to the couch and gracefully lowered herself onto it.

"Come here Katniss. I wanna tell you something." She beamed. 'Someone's awfully happy today.'

I walked over to her and sat with a coffee mug in my hand. "O...kay. What is it?"

"I have a date tonight."

"You are not planning on ditching me are you?"

"Of course not, I would never do that to anyone!" '_Ummm…yeah you would_.' "I am gonna leave right after I finish with the decoration. I was thinking I should just carry my dress there and change in the washroom. It'll save me a trip back home."

"Sure that's great."

"I know right? I can't wait!"

"Glimmer you go on dates more often than anyone I know and I have never seen you quite so happy about it."

"That cuz tonight's date is specialll." She chirped. I raised my brows questioningly.

"Oh Katniss, it's with the cutest boy I have ever seen! His name's Peeta. He is two years older than us. I saw him the other day at a party. You remember Cato? He set me up with him. And God! You wouldn't believe I couldn't keep my eyes off him. He is blonde and so fair! And sooo rich and his body! That broad chest. I wouldn't call him too muscular but he is not lean either. You know the well build types. And that jaw. Swoon!" she gushed in one breath.

Madge choose that moment to walk in on us and enquired about the glow on Glimmer's face. Glimmer without missing a beat jumped right back into the description of this 'Peeta'.

Huh? Who names their child after bread? I bet he is as arrogant and egotistical as Cato. Cato was a senior in college. He also happened to be the most popular guy, the football jock, tall, blonde just like this Peeta guy. He has these hazel eyes that have something disturbing about them. They are almost menacing. I am sure Peeta would be just like him.

"Katniss we have to be there in an hour." Glimmer interrupted my thoughts.

"Yeah sure"

"Alright, I'll see you there then." With that she was gone.

Madge brought the breakfast or whatever was left of it to the couch.

"Are you gonna be okay? Maybe I could try to come for a while." A worried look painted on her face.

"I'll be fiiine. Umm…I'll probably just shove a couple of teenagers down the stairs, that's it."

She wasn't convinced. "Look I'll try. If things get out of hand I'll call you." I tried reassuring her.

"Alllright"

We eat our breakfast in silence, watching the local news guy talk about how fall was just around the corner. God I loved fall. The entire landscape turns a beautiful shade of orange just like the sunset. Though I always preferred the plush green of the forests more, there was something serene about this color with the undertones of burning desire and rage in it. I don't know how a color can encompass two such different qualities.

After cleaning up the apartment I took a bath, dressed up in a pair of casual jeans and a button down white shirt and braided my hair.

I walked downstairs to the parking lot, thinking about how it would feel to go on a date. It wasn't like I never went on a date but it has been a long time. Ever since…him. I couldn't get myself to trust anyone and to sit and talk about life and relationship. I knew I would snap at that point.

I snapped out of my haze as I heard a honk from behind me. I turned and caught my left elbow on the back of a Chevy truck. I tried to examine it but it was a bit out of sight. I sighed and gave up. I never really bandaged my wounds. I was never the clumsy kind but every time I started thinking about …him, I ended up hurting myself or tripping over something or dropping something.

I looked in time to see Glimmer gesture me to follow her. She was in her sexy white Audi of course; a gift from one of her old boyfriends, Marvel. Over the years that I was in America I saved up enough money to buy a second hand black Honda Accord. Glimmer was never interested in travelling in that and as she had a date tonight we took our own cars.

We reached the High School just in time to see the decoration material arrive in trucks. The Ball was gonna be held in the Gym.

On the walk towards the Gym, Glimmer kept blabbing about how exited she was about the date, her dress, her shoes, her style of makeup and hair. I had to remind myself to smile and nod at the right moments.

As soon as we entered the Gym my face fell. It was huge and there were only couple of people working. '_This is gonna take a while_.'

It was almost five pm when I settled on the stands and looked at what we had accomplished. Madge being her sweet self had dropped by at lunch with tuna sandwiches. Otherwise we were constantly working. No, I was working and Glimmer was bossing everyone around.

From the corner of my eyes I saw Glimmer approaching me and contemplated making a run for it. But then I sighed and waited for whatever she was gonna dump on me.

"Katniss I really need your help."

'_Shocking_' I snorted but quickly covered it up with a sniff.

"I need you to help me get dressed for the date. Please Katniss? Please?"

"O...kay"

We went to the bathroom and on the way I picked up an orange soda from the vending machines, '_Geeze, they don't have many options._'

She had brought an entire bag full of hair products and makeup and stuff. Figures. She insisted on having a bath and I just stood there staring at the blue/white floors of the bathroom.

The noise outside indicated that it was well past six thirty when we were done with her dress, hair, makeup and the shoes! She wore a black off shoulder dress that ended mid thigh. Black stilettos that had ribbons that came up to her knees. Her hair was even more curled if that was possible and deep blood red lipstick.

'_Boy, that's how she dresses for a first date!_' but none the less she looked gorgeous. I never had jealousy issues, so I honestly told her how beautiful she was looking.

After at least ten minutes more of her checking herself out in the mirror, we proceeded towards our cars.

I was about to open the door of my car when I heard a loud shriek of despair. It was no doubt that the voice was of Glimmer. My instincts told me to get in the car and drive away and not check what went wrong now but I couldn't do that. So I sighed and stomped my way to her car.

Someone -as a prank of course- had flattened two of her car's tires. I knew what was coming next so I just grumbled "Come on, I'll drop you."

I stopped the car right outside La Haven, the most expensive restaurant in Richmond. Figures. '_Oh, I forgot he's rich._' Throughout the fifteen minute drive Glimmer had a weird face on. Now I got why that was, she didn't wanna step out of an Accord and enter here. '_Oh well_.' She thanked me and hastily went inside.

While pulling out of the front of the restaurant I saw that Glimmer had left her purse in the back seat. Great, just perfect! "I could just return it to her tomorrow." I said to no one in particular. But I remember her blabbering about how she never let guys pay the full check on their dates. '_Damn you Glimmer_.'

I knew I was gonna look a little out of place here but I didn't expect to look worse than the waiters. My dress was a lot like theirs minus the tie. A person at the desk asked me who I was joining. Even he made a weird face after seeing my face. '_Seriously, aren't they supposed to be polite or something._'

I was directed to a very private table. I saw Glimmers with her back towards me and a blonde head bend under the table on the other side.

He was trying to reach for a spoon, I could see the spoon, but apparently it was taking him really long time to find it. I rolled my eyes. He was probably just trying to get a peek at Glimmer from under the table. Jerk. So I was right. He was a carbon copy of Cato. I could bet everything I had that he too would have those scary menacing hazel eyes.

I decided that it was better to just hand the purse over to Glimmer and leave.

Glimmer looked up when I reached the table. "Here," I said hastily giving her the purse. I was about to turn and leave but the blonde head lifted up at the sound of my voice.

I literally stopped dead in my tracks because the face that I saw was not the face that I was expecting.

**Author's Note:**** I hope you guys liked it if you did PLEASE review. Just let me know if I should continue or not. Or just say it's good or a smiley face. If you have any suggestions, feel free to tell me. It's gonna get **_**really**_** Romantic and Angsty later on. **


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: WOW. Thank you sooo much guys for the reviews! and sorry if you thought this is a late update but I have exams :/ Also, when i started writing this fic, it was supposed to be a nice romantic and fluffy one. BUT now I have spent too much time staying up at night and imagining plot lines. I did come up with something. I hope you like it, but it's gonna take time. The journey's just began. *evil grin*  
**

**CHAPTER: Two**

***KATNISS***

Blue.

Blue eyes, so deep that if you fell in them you will never resurface and so peaceful that you wouldn't want to resurface. Blue, a color that signifies cold but these eyes; they were warm. Warm as summer and yet they sent shivers down my spine but there was something that was not quite right, like there was a secret hidden somewhere in those beautiful blue eyes.

I snapped out of my haze when Glimmer touched my arm. I looked at her and I could tell she was annoyed. "Thanks." She murmured.

My eyes flickered back to those blue eyes. Again? Something hidden? Confusion? Fear? I couldn't tell but this time I saw _him_ for the first time.

Peeta. Blonde haired, blue eyes but he was the furthest thing from Cato. His face was not arrogant but gentle, not egotistical but calm. He was beautiful, not just because of his face but because of his expression.

Glimmer let out a loud breath through her mouth, "Peeta this is my friend Katniss, Katniss this is Peeta."

"Hi, it's nice to meet you." his voice just as gentle as his eyes.

"Hey" I muttered self-consciously when I noticed he was covered top to bottom in brands and I on the other hand looked like a waitress. He was wearing a pair of dark blue- artistically faded-jeans, even darker blue shirt that complemented his eyes, black canvas' and a Rolex.

"Why don't you join us Katniss?"

"What? Oh no, that's really not necessary."

"Of course it is. Glimmer just said that you dropped her off. This is the least we could do. I am sure she wouldn't mind."

"Of course not." Glimmer said in a tone that could have only meant; Fuck off.

"Ummm, O…kay I guess." I said while taking a seat that the waiter had placed when I arrived, on Glimmer's left.

Glimmer instantly jumped off into a materialistic talk of how much she had heard about him.

I couldn't do anything else but peek at his face from under my lashes. There was a lot more to him than just blonde hair and blue eyes. He had strong jaw, I vaguely remember Glimmer mentioning it. Pale skin stretched over sharp cheek bones.

He was really handsome but I never behaved this way around any handsome guy, so why him? Because he had so much depth in him, not just his eyes that honestly felt like an abyss but also his face and expression.

I didn't realize that Glimmer had stopped talking and asked me a question.

"Huh? Ummm...I'm sorry what?" I stuttered.

"Would you come to the powder room with me?" she said almost through her teeth.

"What the hell are you doing?" she roared as soon as we entered the washroom.

"Nothing, I'm sorry ok? I didn't mean to stay. I'll leave in five minutes so that it doesn't look weird."

"Fine"

When I looked in the mirror I saw why people were giving me weird looks, my lips were orange! That stupid orange drink! Why didn't Glimmer tell me? Oh right, like I need an answer but why didn't _he_? He didn't even make a weird face.

After a while we walked back to our table and took our seats without uttering a single word. I noticed Glimmer's purse kept on my side so I handed it to her; we must have taken the others seat.

Just then Peeta spoke up, "So, Glimmer what's going on in your college? I have heard that this is your final semester, right?"

The only problem was, he didn't look at her when he said that. He looked at me! Not in conversational way but in a way that he somehow thought that I was her.

"Why did you just call her Glimmer?" she barked. His eyes widened at that.

"Ummm…look I-"

"I mean why would you even do that? I don't look like _her_." Ouch but ok, right now I was still confused by what he said.

"It's not that …ah…let me explain."

"Are you trying to ruin this date because you didn't like _me_." her voice told that she was affirmative that, this scenario was impossible.

To me that was strange; the kind, gentle Peeta didn't look like he would do something like this.

"No, no, Glimmer its ju-"

"Do you think that I am ugly?" horror marred her face.

"God No! Glimmer I am BLIND. That's the problem not you!" my jaw dropped.

That shut her up for a minute. Even I couldn't believe that. How could this sweet faced boy be blind? That somehow didn't seem right. I suddenly felt really bad, like gut wrenching bad. Not pity, because it was obvious he didn't pity himself.

"You are WHAT?" Glimmer roared. "Glimmer" I tried calming her.

"How can you be blind? Why didn't you tell me? _You jerk, freak_!" I gaped at her.

"Look, I am sorry. I thought Cato told you, but when I realized he didn't I tried to tell you but you went to the washroom. And the-", now I felt sorry for him.

"Well I think you never planned on telling me. You asshole" I doubted that. "Of course you didn't. Why would I date someone like _you._" Now she was crossing the line."You know what, to hell with this date. I am going home." She got up and jabbed a finger at me, "I am not interested in riding with you. I'll call Marvel."

'_Your weirdo ex boyfriend?_' I thought, while I said "I plan on staying anyways."

"Go to hell." With that she stormed off and I just stared at her retreating figure.

When I turned, I saw Peeta's gaze fixed in my direction. His expression, hurt? I couldn't tell. '_Why did I say, I was staying?_'

Peeta coughed self consciously, "You don't have to stay out of pity, you know?"

I couldn't help but stare at him, "I'm not….umm…I'm not staying out of pity, I'm staying out of guilt."

"Oh..?"

"Look, I'm not really staying…I'll leave in a minute, I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for what she said, she shouldn't have and that I trust you when you say that Cato was the one who lied."

"I am not that trustworthy, you know and you don't have to say sorry though. It's not even her fault really." He gave a shy smile. "And I always thought that it was pretty obvious that I couldn't see."

"It's not, you have beautiful eyes." I mumbled. '_Shoot_' "I...I…m-mean …it's...you h-"

"Thank you" he whispered, ending my misery.

"Ahhh…I really am sorry though. Ummm…I umm…should get going then?" that should have been a statement but it came out more like a question.

"No wait! I mean, at least have dinner with me? It's late anyways so you must be hungry too and I don't wanna eat alone."

"I-I…am not...I don't think..."

"Oh come on, don't make me use the blind guy sympathy card."

Now at that, I smiled, "Okay, I'll stay."

It amused me a little to realize that this time I didn't curse the person for making me put up a smile because this wasn't a fake smile.

"Oh thank god!"

"You wouldn't really use that though?"

"Sure I would but first I would have pouted, it works wonders." That made me crack up.

The waiters choose this moment to arrive with the order.

Peeta realized that the food had arrived and he slapped his head, "I am so sorry, I forgot to tell you, I pre-ordered the food, if you have any problem though we can send it back."

When I saw what was served at the table, my mouth watered. Cheese Fondue! It was something me and Madge have on my birthday every year.

"This is amazing," I assured him. "My favorite actually, me and my best friend have it every year on my birthday." I blurted.

"Great then, I like it too; though I am not really a fan of cheese."

"You do realize that Cheese Fondue is basically melted cheese, right?"

He snorted, "No I didn't actually, thank you for enlightening me. No but seriously, I prefer to have Cheese Fondue here because they offer you three different sides of meat and three different kinds of bread, two of which I love."

"You mean you love the bread?"

"Yeah, me and my Dad used to bake a lot. I always had a thing for bread. I'm curious about every kind. Two out of these three here, I can make but the third I just can't get it right."

He really did have a look of frustration on his face, must be serious then.

"That's an interesting…umm...hobby?"

"Yeah you can call it a hobby. So shall we dig in?"

Halfway through our meal, he had me tell him everything about me. Now it was his turn.

"Well where do I begin? I was born in New York, grew up there and went to college."

"So what are you doing here?"

"My parents got divorced when I was young. I lived with my Dad in New York. My Mom lives here with my aunt. This place was like my vacation spot every year. This year I came here for a longer vacation. Now that I work in my Dad's company I can take free time whenever I want and work from wherever I want. I am gonna be here for a while and then go back to NY. Sooo I have practically lived my entire life on this continent. Hey about that, if you are from London, why don't you have an accent?"

"Because I moved here when I was 11, I think the American accent has rubbed off on me."

"Why did you move here alone at that age? I mean it's not like you joined High School or anything."

My throat went dry, "I umm…my…"

He probably heard the turmoil in my voice, "Some other time then."

I focused my mind on chewing the cheese covered bread in my mouth.

Peeta extended his hand and was almost about to tip a glass of water on the table but then he grabbed it.

"Were you always blind?" I regretted the words as soon as they were out of my mouth. "I am sorry, I didn't mean to pry; that just came out, I don't know what I was thinking."

"It's ok Katniss." Somehow those simple words were able to calm me. "And to answer your question-No, I wasn't always blind. I lost my sight two years ago in an accident."

"How?"

"Like I said, an accident." But he was distant. "I'm not completely blind you know. It's blurry, too blurry actually but it's there. I can't tell who's who or what's what but I can see that something's there. I suffered a head injury and there was some nerve damage. They say that my eyes are fine. I might even get my eye sight back actually if they can find a match."

"But you have amazing blue eyes." I inwardly cursed myself.

"Well thank you. As it happens I don't have to give that up. Nerve damage, remember? I am not really a doctor so I have no idea how that works but if the nerve is repaired/replaced my own eyes would work just fine."

"That's good news right?"

"I wouldn't get my hopes up Katniss. Crushed hopes hurt the most."

Silence dawned upon us. Neither of us spoke until the waiter came in and replaced our old plates. "Dessert" he said and left.

"Hot Chocolate Fudge" Peeta grinned, his smile was contagious.

When the check came, he didn't even give me time to blink and paid the entire bill. _'Well, it's not like I can actually afford even a quarter of it._'

We walked in silence towards our cars; he had a cane. He stopped in front of a sleek, black BMW with his driver already in it and turned to face me. "Katniss, this was nice. It felt good to have a friend you can talk to. You wanna meet up some other time and talk about some other thing?" His face suddenly turned serious. "You know like life, friends, weather, why is the ice on the poles melting so fast, just stuff."

He said that with such a straight face that I cracked up.

"Sure we could meet again."

"Oh good, I thought I would have to resort to '_the pout'_, so how about this Sunday? We could go the museum or something."

"I can't, I always spend my Sundays at 'The View' Café actually."

"So I'll just tag along."

"Ok sure." I smiled. "Hey wait, that's tomorrow!"

"I know. So I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow." I rolled my eyes.

I turned and started walking towards my car when he said, "Hey?"

"Yeah?" I still kept walking.

"What's your name Katniss?" I chuckled, as he asked my name and then said it himself but I knew what he meant.

"Katniss Everdeen." I shouted over my shoulder. "And yours?"

"Peeta Sae."

**AN: I know, I know, his name's not Peeta Sae, it's Peeta Mellark and trust me I love it too but i have a reason for what I did (not very important or suspenseful but it's there) you'll know soon or not so soon :P also REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW. It's really motivating. AND AND I need a name for Cato's brother, any suggestions? Also the NEXT chapter is from PEETA's POV.*does the happy dance***


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Finally I am done with this chapter! I was reallly sad that no one reviewed at first :( and it made me ditch writing for a couple of nights. Also I have my semester exams, so dont hold your breath for the next update. and now PEETA's POV and his history too!  
**

**CHAPTER: Three**

***PEETA***

"Katniss Everdeen"

I whispered her name again, after I heard her car pull away; I was getting good at this, really good actually, recognizing voices and sounds, whose footsteps went where and what's happening around me.

So it felt stupid really, that I wasn't able to tell, who sat where at the table, after the girls returned, but I knew it was more stupid not to tell them the truth as soon as I realized what Cato did. Why didn't I? Huh. I knew it was because of _her, her voice!_

Katniss. Why did her voice sound so familiar? I know I have never met her. So why did it feel, like the voice meant something to me?

Then I heard that Pollux got out of the car and walked over to me. A hand fell on my shoulder, "Mr. Sae? Shouldn't we be leaving?"

"Yes we should and Pollux, how many times do I have to tell you, to call me Peeta."

"At least once more Mr. Sae, as always." He grinned.

I shook my head and got into the car. I rested my head on the headrest and closed my eyes.

This was much better. The darkness was much better than the blur. At least it felt peaceful, but what I endure was not; a blurry mix of colors. I sighed; I always ended up with a headache at the end of the day.

I took my cane out and made my way to the bedroom.

Once I was inside, I knew I wouldn't need my cane. I literally had the entire space mapped out, in my head.

My room was pretty big. The door opened in the left most corner of the room, with a little space between my actual room and the door. Another door on the right hand side of the space led to the bathroom. The bed was placed in the centre of the right wall, with two bed side tables beside it. On the left wall there were the doors to the walk-in closet and next to it- near the huge window- was my study table.

When I found my way to the bed and plopped down on it, I heard knock on the door.

"Peeta, are you in there my boy?" my aunt said.

My mom had moved in with her, when my parents got divorced. I have had no idea how my aunt was able to put up with her all these years.

I remember being ten and hoping that my parents would just get separated already. Their marriage wasn't a happy one. My dad was a simple man and my mom was… well my mom. The only reason she married my dad was because he was a billionaire.

Well, don't get me wrong, I love my mom; it's the only reason I still spent time with her. But she is what she is. She doesn't care much for anyone, not my dad, not me.

My aunt on the other hand is the total opposite of my mom. She never had kids of her own but she always thought of me as one. She loved me, no matter what I did.

"Yeah, I'm right here Aunt Greasy." I replied, rather grumpily.

"So how was your date?" I heard her close the door behind her.

"Fine"

"Oh what happened, Peeta?" she said and sat next to me.

She always knew when something was wrong with me.

"Nothing really. My evening was pretty great just not the 'date' part."

"And why was that?"

I told her about everything that happened. I didn't need to look in her eyes to see that they were sad.

"It's ok, you know." I reassured her. "I don't really care much anymore."

"I know but that doesn't mean that what she did was right. Well the good thing is you found a nice friend or maybe something more?" I rolled my eyes. "Just saying."

"So can I sleep now? I am really worn out with all the work and then this da-"

"All right, all right I'm leaving." She patted me on my shoulder and walked toward the door.

"Good night aunt Greasy."

"Good night." She paused, "And remember Peeta, no matter what the girl said or did, you were still the better guy and that's what matters. Don't take this the wrong way, you know I have loved you no matter what but you have come a long way and now you are a much better person than you used to be. Right now, I am proud of you for that." The next thing I heard were the sounds of the door opening and closing.

I slowly got up and walked over to the bathroom, striped my cloths and got in the shower. Every time I wanted to think about something or wallow in my past, I ended up here.

I leaned my hands against the wall and let the hot water cascade down my bare body. I thought about what aunt Greasy said, I was a different person now. I knew that. It was funny now, to think what the _Old Peeta_ might have done in tonight's situation. Huh, Old Peeta.

For most part of my life, I have been the good guy, the righteous, caring, helping guy. I was the guy that everybody liked; friends, family, teachers, everyone.

I even got my best friend- Delly Cartwright- after a heroic act of saving her friend from the bullies; at least in third grade, it was considered heroic.

But things changed after _that_ day. It happened five years ago.

"_Peeta, you coming?" Marko shouted from downstairs. He was the oldest and had just completed his education at Harvard. He was considered the most useful-by my mom of course- as he was about to start working for our company._

_Luka and I on the other hand were considered to be waste of space- again my mom's words. Luka was a year older than me and had taken up theater. Me? I was an artist, I took-and excelled- Fine Arts Painting classes and had also taken some photography classes, in college. _

"_Of course, I'm coming!" I said as I sprinted down the stairs. I knew if I didn't, they would leave me behind; it was usual for them. Especially today when me and Luka were not on good terms._

"_That's what she said." Luka laughed. That was the last straw; I had put up with his crap throughout the day and not uttered a single word._

"_She who? Your girlfriend?" I hissed. That, right there, was the breaking point. He shoved me and I fell backwards, breaking an urn in the process. My hand landed in the broken pieces but I was so frustrated, that I picked up a big chunk and hurled it at him. It hit him right in his stomach, he doubled over in pain for a minute then started to look around; for something to hit me with, I guess._

"_Alright, break it up you two." Marko stepped between us. "You guys are getting worst by the minute. I am not taking you two idiots with me to the party and Peeta you need to take care of your hand too buddy."_

_I got up and straightened my cloths when Luka smirked, "You're forgetting something big brother; I have the passes."_

"_Fine we'll go. Peeta you're coming with us but I'm dropping you off at a hospital, you need stitches."_

_I got out of the car, outside the hospital and turned to Marko's open window. "I'll take a cab back home."_

"_You sure?"_

"_I'm sorry about your hand." _

_Marko and Luka mumbled at the same time._

"_Yeah, I am sure." I said and completely ignored Luka. With that they drove off._

_Later that night, I stood in my balcony and thought about the turn of events. Me and Luka fought a lot but this was the low point. Besides my dad, my brothers are the most important people in my life. '_I shouldn't have ignored Luka_.'_

_I heard the doorbell and walked downstairs. I saw on the security monitor that it was dad. Huh? 'Doesn't he have his keys?'_

_I stumbled to the door and opened it, to see my father's face completely drained of blood._

"_Dad? What happened? Are you alright?" I had never seen my dad like this._

_He looked at me with grave eyes, "Your brother, they were in an accident. They're dead." _

I still remember that day, like it was yesterday. Not just because I had lost my brothers but because I had lost _myself_.

I transferred to a different college and took up Business Management classes, because I knew that the company would be my responsibility but that was it. I never cared much to study enough or keep up my grades. At the end of college I knew I had barely passed.

I deliberately turned myself into someone who was the opposite of me. I moved out of my dad's house. I tried to drown my sorrows in alcohol and didn't realize what I did when I was drunk.

That's when I became friends with Clayton-I knew him and his brother Cato but never wanted to be their friend- and turned into someone I couldn't recognize.

Because of the new college, I became distant with the one person I knew that could have saved me; Delly. I partied, showed up late to class, made fun of the teacher right in front of them, spent most of college being thrown out of class. I practically surpassed Clayton's bad boy image.

I wasn't just the bad boy of college, I was The Playboy. I didn't care much about any girl I went out with or hooked up with-that's what I would I have said back then. I turned into the kind of boy who made bets on girls and whether he would be able to pick up a girl within five minutes; I always won.

I sighed, _that_ Peeta would have probably insulted Glimmer and shooed away Katniss-the interruption- as soon as she came.

Even now, sometimes I couldn't keep my anger under control. I was like the broken urn, I tried my best to put back all the pieces and hold them together but the cracks were there.

I was glad though, that I was somewhat back to being the guy I used to be before my brothers died. People might think that such a transformation may have taken time but it was a pretty instant change; like a switch that had been flipped. It was one incident, one thing that made me realize how bad I had been. I remembered that day because that was also the day that I lost my sight.

It was a couple of months after I graduated from college. I had started hanging out with my old friends; people from my old college. They were going to be in college for yet another year and I spent most of the time in their college; roaming around and flirting with girls. Even though Delly disapproved, she couldn't stop me.

I had hooked up with a girl- whose name I can't remember, for the life of me- and dumped her within two days. I had no way to foresee that his brother would take out his revenge, by going out with Delly and insulting her in front of the entire college.

It was that night that she had confronted me.

_I parked my car in a parking lot, right across the street from her apartment._

"_This is all your fault Peeta!" she slapped me right across my face, as soon as I stepped out of the car._

"_What the hell." I roared._

"_Do you know what happened to me today?" she hissed and continued without giving me a chance to speak. "I was insulted and embarrassed- in front of the entire college- by Gloss because YOU broke his sister's heart!"_

"_I didn't kno-"_

"_It doesn't matter whether you knew or not. It's still your fault. He made me look like a SLUT, Peeta!"_

"_I'm sorry"_

"_Sorry doesn't cut it this time, Peeta. I put up with your crap only because I knew you were hurt after you brothers died but enough's enough now." Those words came as another slap. No one had ever brought up my brothers after they were gone. "You have hurt a lot of people, including yourself. I can't stand being next to you and I won't. Don't ever try to talk to me, Peeta." she snapped and started walking towards her apartment. _

_She was right. I can't keep living like this anymore, I can't keep hurting the ones I love. In all these year, I had created distance between me and my dad too. How could I? Especially when he needed me, needed his only son. I can't do this to them anymore. I can't do this to MYSELF._

_I looked up to see Delly on the side walk across the street. I ran, "Delly, wait."_

_I was in such a hurry to stop her that, I didn't realize that I had to cross a heavy traffic road. I turned my head when I heard the honk, just in time to see the headlights and jump back a little. That wasn't enough though. The car's side view mirror clipped me on my shoulder. The sudden hit tossed me to the ground and I hit my head on the pavement._

_The last thing I remember was, hearing Delly's panicked voice, "Peeta!" Then everything went black._

Even now, I don't believe that I will ever get my sight back. I think of it as some kind of payment, for the things I did.

I was punished in a lot of ways though. I lost most of my friends and the one who stayed, did so out of pity.

Katniss however did not pity me. I heard it in her voice; she might have felt bad for me but not pity. Huh? Again! Her voice? Why did it feel so important to me?

I realized I was in the shower for a long time, so I turned off the water and stepped out.

I wrapped a towel around my waist and walked to the closet. I found the little gadget that my dad had bought me after the accident; it read out information from the labels put up on all my clothes. I found a pair of black boxer, put them on and made my way to the bed.

I thought about the next day and how I would get to hear her voice again. Somehow that thought made me feel….happy.

***KATNISS***

I got home to see Madge sprawled across her bed- fast asleep- and covered in sheets of papers.

"Madge, wake up. I don't think you completed your assignments." I shook her a little.

"Huh? Ummm what?" She said wiping the drool from her mouth.

"I guess you fell asleep but your assignment doesn't look like it's complete." I shook her again, when it looked like she would fall back to sleep. "Come on, get up. I'll help you with your assignment, just let me change first."

I changed into a pair of blue pajama shorts and a black tank top and walked out of the bathroom to see Madge sitting on her study table and two mugs of coffee placed on mine.

"So, why are so late? ...and why did I hear lots of banging noises coming from Glimmers apartment?"

"Well she was mad, so she might have had an episode or she left with Marvel, so it could be them." I smirked.

"Ewww Katniss, party foul image. And Marvel? Wasn't she on a date with, wait what was his name? Oh Peeta! What happened to him?"

"Yeah, about that." I jumped into the story of the evening.

"Sooo… you're gonna meet him tomorrow then?" She said with a strange shine in her eyes.

"Yes but don't give me that look, it's not a date."

"Fine but he seems like a nice guy though. I still can't believe Glimmer said that." A frown marred her expression.

"I know. Don't you think we should be completing this?" I said pointing towards the sheets stacked on her desk.

Later that I night, I lay away in my bed, staring out the window. As I looked at the blue night sky, all I could think about was Peeta's blue eyes. The secret that-I was sure- was hidden somewhere in those beautiful blue eyes haunted me.

When I came to know that Peeta was blind, I thought that, that was the secret he was hiding in those beautiful blue orbs. Soon I realized that I was wrong, there was still something hidden in that abyss.

That's when something he said came back to me. 'I am not that trustworthy, you know._'_ I let it slip that time because I was too busy making a fool of myself.

'_Why would he say that?_'

Well I was sure of one thing, '_I will solve this mystery named Peeta._'

**AN: I took the idea of names MARKO and LUKA from my mosttt favorite THG fanfic 'WHEN THE MOON FELL IN LOVE WITH THE SUN' by 'Mejhiren'. It's the most beautiful and hypnotizing and intricate and mesmerizing story i have ever read on this site and i suggest that you read it too. Alsooo PLEASE REVIEW! it actually and literally hurts when you dont get reviews.**


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